Number of deliquent mortgages declines

The number of delinquent mortgages declined 8.6 percent in March, says LPS Applied Analytics, which tracks the performance of loans for investors. Totals also declined in February.

The biggest decline was in loans more than 30 days past due, which are now at about the same level as they were in spring 2008.

"We're not out of the woods, but this appears to be a turning point," says LPS Applied Analytics President Ted Jadlos. "This is the first time we've seen improvement across all stages of mortgage delinquency."

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon (04/19/2010)

The percentage of delinquent mortgages declined to 6.57 percent in the first quarter from 6.60 in the last quarter of 2009, according to Equifax and Moody’s Economy.com.

This is the first decline in the delinquency rate since the first quarter of 2006.